Antec System Cases: Three Versions of Quiet. Page 6

Antec system cases are well-known for their indisputable advantages that vary from one series to another. Today we will talk about three ATX cases of different sizes, which primary feature is quiet system operation.

The accessories and fasteners are packed into the huge cardboard box that occupies the entire mainboard compartment. The box is mostly empty, though.

The things you can find in it are almost the same as were included with the P183 V3. The only new accessory is plastic supports for long expansion cards but I couldn’t test them due to the short length of my graphics card.

The key feature of the flagship product of the Performance One series is its dramatically improved cooling system. It still comes with no front fans preinstalled but the ventilation system has been reinforced in two ways. The P193 V3 has twice the number of fans of its predecessor and most of those fans are just larger.

There are not two but three fans at the top of the chassis. The single 120mm fan on the top panel we could see in the previous models is replaced with a couple of 140mm fans.

Like with the previous models of this series, the fans are controlled with switches you can find at the top of the back panel. There are now three instead of two switches here.

The fourth and last preinstalled fan is in the side-panel protrusion. This 200mm giant has three speed modes but you have to open the side panel to access the controller. It hangs on the wires on the inside of the panel.

The side panel is covered with an easily removable meshed dust filter. The air comes to the fan through the vent grid along the perimeter of the protrusion from the outer side of the case.

The preinstalled fans vary in form-factor, so they have different rotation speeds. According to my measurements, the 120mm fan is 1000, 1600 and 2000 RPM fast in the low, medium and high-speed mode of the controller. The 140mm fans rotate at 740, 1100 and 1400 RPM in the low, medium and high-speed mode, respectively. The 200mm fan on the side panel is the slowest of all, rotating at 430, 620 and 780 RPM in the three controller modes.

The P193 V3 is almost silent at the low speed of the fans but begins to hum a little at the medium speed (it is not as loud as the fans of the P183 V3 at their medium speed, though). It is noisy at the maximum speed of the fans. The only exception is the side 200mm fan: it's quiet even at the maximum speed and inaudible at the low and medium speed.

Take note that the exhaust fan on the back panel turns out to be the noisiest in the medium-speed mode. It is the smallest and rotates at the highest speed among the four preinstalled fans. So, you may want to keep this fan in the low-speed mode to make the P193 V3 as quiet as possible.

The working P193 V3 looks even more solid than the P183 V3 thanks to its dimensions but is somewhat inferior in terms of external trimming due to the lack of aluminum on the side panels. This metal is only left on the side fan cap.

Highs:

Almost silent at the low speed of the fans

Acceptable level of noise at the medium speed of the fans

Efficient protection against dust

Easy to assemble

Huge interior

USB 3.0 support

Imposing exterior design

Lows:

High noise at the maximum fans speeds

Wide, which may make it incompatible with some desk niches

No front fans included by default

You have to take the side panel off to regulate the speed of the side fan